Better Cotton sets 2020 growth target

Better Cotton will account for 30% of global cotton production by 2020, according to a new target set by the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI).
The long-term aim is part of the BCI’s strategy for the 2013-15 period, following a review of the scheme’s 2010-12 implementation phase.

“Having established the Better Cotton Standard System through harvests in a number of regions, and with a growing demand for Better Cotton fibre, Better Cotton production is now expanding at scale as it sets about the task of sustainable market transformation with global impact,” said the BCI.

It pledged to rapidly expand capacity and leverage supply chain demand for Better Cotton in 2013-15, with the long-term aim of transforming cotton production worldwide through the establishment of Better Cotton as a sustainable, mainstream commodity.

The BCI’s expansion strategy has three main strands: expanding Better Cotton capacity, establishing mainstream recognition and ensuring financial resilience. The strategy launch would coincide with the adaptation of systems and processes to allow expansion “at speed and at scale”, the BCI said.

The BCI focuses on improving ecological, social and economic conditions in the global cotton industry.